Born Anissa Pierce, she is a metahuman and daughter of superhero Black Lightning, able to increase her physical density and durability and create massive shockwaves.

Her father Jefferson Pierce (Black Lightning) and her mother Lynn Stewart did not want her following in his footsteps, and he struck a bargain with her: she would graduate from college before considering a career in crimefighting.

The matter transmuter Shimmer converted the air in her lungs to water, which caused an inflammation so great that she had pulmonary edema and Acute respiratory distress syndrome, which nearly killed her.

OYL, Anissa remains a member of the Outsiders (a team that was currently believed to be dead), and has been involved in the attempted toppling of the regime of Mali.

[7] It was revealed that Thunder has been in a romantic relationship with her teammate Grace, making her one of a handful of LGBT people of color in the DC roster.

events an assembly of the Outsiders, including Anissa, receives a message from the missing Batman, asking them to feed a secret code in the cybernetic mind of the ReMAC, allowing him to track the Caped Crusader and the Black Glove and help him into his fight.

As they reluctantly comply, due to Batgirl, the code reveals itself as a cybernetic boobytrap set by Doctor Hurt, the mastermind behind Batman's downfall, and ReMAC explodes.

After the fight is broken up by Doctor Fate, Anissa and Grace choose to rejoin the Outsiders on a mission to Markovia, where Amanda Waller tasked them with capturing Geo-Force.

In an alternate universe depicted in Kingdom Come, a young boy who inherited his father's powers and became the new owner of Thunderbolt operates as Thunder.